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ontheweb www.finehomebui lding.com Look for these and other free magazine extras on the FineHomebuilding.com home page. beyond store-bought stains Matching wood finishes can be challenging when you don’t know what brand, type, and color were used previously. Cabinetmaker Rex Alexander demonstrates techniques that work when you have to start from scratch. making the most of a small space After living in Japan, architect Tina Govan learned that Japanese bedrooms have dual functions. Impressed— and pressed for space—she explains how she incorporated this philosophy into her own home. Trim routers explained Often called laminate trimmers, these handheld routers have evolved into more than just specialized trimming tools. In this five-part video series, learn what’s on the market and what features distinguish each model. SIDING-FACTORY TOURS from raw logs to finished siding Go inside three Pacific Northwest lumber mills, and see how century-old industrial saws and state-of-the-art milling equipment both have their place. From there, a foreman at a Northeast plant that makes factoryfinished siding explains the process. membersonly FineHomebuilding.com members have access to the entire Fine Homebuilding digital article archive, tool reviews, and exclusive content created just for the Web. TuRReT conSTRucTion on deck Imagine framing a turret roof on site, two stories up, as simply as building a common garden gazebo. In this video, contributing editor Rick Arnold and his crew assemble a turret roof in the middle of a house’s second-story floor deck, which allows them to frame, sheathe, and shingle most of the structure without using ladders. Then, after the turret roof is assembled, it can slide into place and be integrated with the siding and roofing. AddiTionAl membeRS-onlY benefiTS  Current issue online  Full access to more than 1450 archived articles  Tips & Techniques  Q&A Videos 14-DAY FREE TRIAL And more . . . 6 FINE HOMEBUILDING below-grade window-well solutions cReATed bY dougR: i’m planning to build a deck and wondered if there are potential problems with covering below-grade window wells. Are there any things to watch out for, such as drainage or maintenance issues? Posted by dday: I would close them in. If they are covered by the deck, there is no point to them, so I would fill them in with concrete block and cement them in. Posted by restorationday: I think an inspec- tor would take issue with a basement-window well being covered if it is intended to be used as an egress point for a basement bedroom. Posted by k1c: One idea is to cover the win- dow wells with galvanized screen so that they don’t collect leaves or attract nesting animals. Photos this page: John Ross breaktime BUILDING SKILLS Taping and mudding inside corners For drywall novices, there’s nothing more challenging— or messy—than finishing an inside corner. In this video, Myron R. Ferguson explains that perfect inside corners require a three-step, threeday process. PluS: Videos Editor blogs Reader forums Magazine index Additional extras Free eLetter sign-up Advice from our online forum If you haven’t visited “Breaktime,” our online discussion group, then you’re missing out on a fascinating exchange of ideas, advice, and commentary. You’ll find “Breaktime” on our Web site. Listed below are some recent highlights. Sizing a job-site waste container cReATed bY mem21: i recently bought an old house that has plaster and wood-lath walls and ceilings. how do i estimate the size of the dumpster i should get for the demolition? Posted by Redfordhenry: You are likely pay- ing the same fee for delivery and pickup of a 10-yd. or 30-yd. Dumpster, and the disposal cost is based on weight. If this is the case, get the biggest Dumpster you can fit on the site. If it goes off site with air in it, you are probably not paying any more. Posted by renosteinke: Dumpster design var- ies from place to place, but in Reno, Nevada, I would recommend the 20-yd. variety, simply because it’s the only one where you can easily lift things over the sides. Also, I’d rather empty a Dumpster several times than try to do it all at once. First, a “fear of calling” leads to overfilling, and that’s really expensive. Second, the bigger the Dumpster, the more likely you’ll get up one morning to find it filled with every old sofa in town. REVIEW AUDIO HOW-TO